Journalist Reveals Newcastle Deal for Striker That Was Hijacked by Everton Last Summer
A Newcastle based journalist has revealed that a deal for Spanish forward Sandro Ramirez was hijacked at the last minute by eventual buyers Everton.
Mark Douglas, a writer for local publication The Chronicle, has stated that a deal for the striker was all but done when the Merseyside club came in with an offer that stumped Newcastle United at the last minute.
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In his most recent piece for the paper, Douglas stated that "When they met in those May days of possibility following Newcastle United’s promotion to the Premier League, Rafa Benitez proposed a striker signing to Mike Ashley that whetted the owner’s appetite.
“Malaga striker Sandro Ramirez was young, up-and-coming and coming off the back of a 14-goal La Liga season that seemed to hint at the early promise that had seen him break into Barcelona’s first team.
“At £5million – a price pretty much negotiated before his name was mentioned to Ashley – it felt like the perfect sort of Newcastle United deal.
“‘Go and get him’ came the message from the Newcastle owner – only for Everton to blow Newcastle out of the water with a contract offer several times larger than the one Newcastle were proposing or thought was right for a player of his stature.”
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Newcastle may have rued not getting the deal over the line but may look back now with little regret as Sandro's maiden season in English football was one to forget. The Spaniard struggled for minutes at Goodison before being loaned out to Sevilla in January shortly after.
